EDITORIAL: Bond issues can help area school districts

By Enterprise editorial staff

Published 10:00 am, Monday, April 30, 2012

School bond issues haven't always fared well in the region in recent years, but the need for them doesn't go away. Several area districts are asking voters to OK various improvements on May 12, and three of these proposals are worth supporting in whole or part.

-- Nederland ISD voters are being presented with the widest array of options. Propositions 1 ($7.3 million) and 2 ($21.2 million) would authorize various repairs and upgrades to aging school buildings. Proposition 3 ($16 million) would build a new Hillcrest Elementary, and Proposition 4 ($32 million) would build a new C.O. Wilson Middle School.

Good arguments can be made in favor of all the proposals, but Propositions 1 and 2 seem exceptionally justified. They would fund renovations in buildings that have needed them for years. Much of this work can't be put off any longer.

-- The Hamshire-Fannett district has two propositions - one for $14 million to replace and relocate the elementary school, and another for $2 million to upgrade the cafeteria and internet connectivity hardware.

The proposal for the elementary school was defeated last November, but school officials believe they have better explained the need for it this time.

-- The Silsbee ISD has a $40 million proposal to construct two new buildings - one for grades pre-K through 3 and another for the seventh and eighth grades. The middle school also would be remodeled and one elementary school building would be changed into an alternative learning facility.

In all three districts, if voters study the bond issue more closely, they will likely see the need for these reasonable proposals.